44 Account of the 



probable, that it does ascend to a more northern 

 clime. Possibly, some of the deer which were seen 

 by Mr. Hearne, in his northern journey, were the 

 Elk. Our information concerning the southern limit 

 of the Elk is not much more correct. It was for- 

 merly a very common animal in Virginia, and is still 

 found in the western parts of that state*. It is very 

 common in the State of Kentucky, and in the back 

 parts of North- Carolina. It is also found in the State 

 of Tennessee. I can trace it about as far south as 

 the latitude of 33°, in the western parts of Florida, 

 and do not doubt that it descends still lower down. 

 Whether it extends westward to the Pacific-Ocean, I 

 have not learned. The diffusion of our quadrupeds, 

 from east to west, across the continent, is one of the 

 great desiderata in the zoology of North- America. 



The Elk feeds upon a great variety of vegetables. 

 He eats grass, nettles, mosses, and the bark, leaves, 

 and buds of different trees and shrubs. In the win- 

 ter, when the ground is covered with snow, he is 

 observed to be particularly fond of the tender twigs 

 of a tree, which is sometimes called Moose-wood, 

 and Elk-wood, and Soft Maple. This is the Acer 

 Pennsylvanicum. He is fond of the leaves of the 

 Sambucus canadensis, or Canadian Elder. He eats 

 acorns, and a plant called Trip-up, and Moose-wood. 

 I presume he also eats the leaves, or other parts, of 

 the Oil-nut : a singular shrub, which inhabits the 



• Beverley, Jefferson, &c. 



